It has been QUITE the holiday season this year. 2015 will definitely be remembered for all the labs in our life… from Shawn’s Beast who lived to 12.5 years old, our Bucky the NOTpuppy, and the brand new Caleb! With Beast getting ill, family situations, and more - an Aspen christmas turned into an epic 3 week 5000+ mile road trip for Shawn, Bucky, and I in the NOTFZJ. We quickly went from LA to Kingman, AZ to Albuquerque, NM, Fayetteville, AR over to Nashville where we spent a week and a half with his family before venturing back west slightly slower. On the way back we bounced from Nashville through tornado weather over to Columbia, MO to amazing BBQ in Kansas City, spending the night in Burlington, CO… venturing to dim sum and dog parks in Denver/Boulder for Christmas, out to Grand Junction, CO… then ending up in a tiny cabin high in the La Sal Mountains in Utah for two nights… offroading the incredible trails in Arches National Park… then on to St George, UT and finally back home to LA yesterday. PHEW Exhausting and amazing to recap all the places we’ve been, the things we’ve seen… and on the next page is only the @notlabs instagram highlights! The journey as been incredibly fun, exhausting, eye opening, and thought provoking on so many levels - so jump in and see what we’ve been up to on the next page while i go relax and reflect on how awesome 2015 has been!

Driving across country from LA to Nashville, we had to stop at the epic Bass Pro Pyramid (Bass Pro moved into the Memphis Pyramid downtown) - and it is truly a disney style adventure inside… giant outdoor store with hotel (where rooms have screened in porches with rocking chairs), aquarium, ponds, nature dioramas, waterfowling heritage center, a fish themed bowling alley, restaurant, shooting ranges, an elevator to the top of the pyramid and more. And during holiday time, it was even more over the top. But what was most surprising (beyond seeing it all in person) - was the TOYS. I had no idea that they had so many toys… from their own brand… representing all types of outdoor activities (for adventure boys and “girlz”) from camping and kayaking, to fishing and hunting, 4x4 and rafting, motocross and more! They even have a “Sporting Dog Vet Set”! Also adorable ride-on ATVs for toddlers… which as far as how you ride them goes, it looks a lot more realistic than the mini Mercedes and Porsche ones! Take a peek at what grabbed my attention on the next page.

I played with the Triggertrap Mobile App a while back - and it’s pretty fun! You can use it to control your phone camera in timelapse mode, sensor modes (clap, move, whistle, face recognition, etc!), HDR modes, remote modes (wifi! wearables!)… and if you buy the cable adapter to your proper camera you can turn your phone into a remote trigger/shutter controller for all kinds of cable release modes! To be honest, i played with it for a while, totally intended to buy a cable to try it with my Canon 5D MKIII… and one thing lead to another and i forgot.

… until i was over at Photojojo the other day, and shopping around, i stumbled back across the Triggertrap camera cable and decided it was time to play with it! And yes, it’s so so fun! It also arrived crazy fast and with a surprise toy dinosaur (Thanks, Photojojo!) But what REALLY surprised me, was how awesome their packaging is! How had no one shown me that part first… i probably would have impulse bought it even earlier. It’s also such a cute, easy stocking stuffer! It actually reminds me a lot of the Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator Unboxing. What i love most? It’s JUST A CABLE… but they’ve packaged it to feel like so much more as you “Rip it like it’s hot” to get inside to the nicely molded case… and even then there’s info printed inside the sleeve and a sticker inside. Nice details. Fun colors! And a simple, powerful, easy to use app UI! Awesome experience all around!

From beauty blog, Into The Gloss, comes Glossier - a product line! While there are probably millions of beauty products and lines out there… what really made me take the leap to try out their goods are… the PACKAGING! (Yes, packaging totally makes a difference) Also… the whole customer experience and online experience they’ve created. It’s lovely, playful, thoughtful… both online and in your hands!

The Glossier Mask Duo Set is just beautifully put together. A perfect, easy gift for just about anyone! 12 single use face masks and a headband. Who doesn’t need some pampering and forced relaxation between holiday chaos? And the limited edition gift set is inspired by Russel Stover Chocolates - “Whether you’re into chocolate or not, who doesn’t love a good box of candies? The crinkle of the vellum paper. The laser-printed ribbon. The fact that you can share it with friends, colleagues, whomever (but you also don’t have to).” Only, instead of chocolates you get the most adorable dozen blue and green mask PODS! Like nespresso pods… for your face! They would make adorable stocking stuffers on their own… if you could bare to break up the box! Also perfectly purse/travel friendly!

Seriously, from the custom packing tape you cut through to open the box, to the stunning gift set sleeves… to the hefty boxes, velum info sheet, and perfectly cut tray with 12 little glossy pods… it’s a fantastic tactile and visual experience before the products even make it into your bathroom. And the golden tickets - a lovely touch - a secret code in each box to give you… a surprise! Ooh and they even have a video looking at the packaging details of the set! Take a peek on the next page at the Glossier Mask Duo Set and the Glossier Phase 1 Set.

Anyone else still deciding what to cook for Thanksgiving? While figuring out our menu, and exploring options to spice things up or surprise people a bit… here’s some of the fun i found on Tasteologie! Click the pictures to find out more.

Wow. What’s black, white, luxurious, and ridiculous? Luxury Googley (Googly?) Eyes for the holidays! Marc by Marc Jacobs has a LOT of googly eyes going on for their Disney Collection - still not quite sure how it relates to Disney (they say it’s Alice In Wonderland inspired)… is it the scene with the flowers? From hoodies to wallets to iphone cases… and of course larger ones for bag charms. So absurd it’s amusing… though you could probably buy MANY plastic/crafty googly eyes and some super glue for the same price as most of these items, it’s interesting to see them glammed up. See the collection on the next page!

Want one? We made 10 special NOTCOT Maple stands (no David Kind logo, just a little NOTCOT one instead) If you’re interested, contact me for details! Anything we make from these maple stands will go towards making the larger swing/shelf!

The NOTCOT for David Kind Glasses Stands are now out in the wild! See our official photos of the finished product here… but for those curious about how they came to be - from ideation to design to prototypes to milling tests to revisions to outsourcing experiments to learning about wood to laser jigging to sanding and felting and all the adventures in between… i’ve rounded up the progress that was shown on the @NOTlabs Instagram and filled in a few more of the gaps along the way for you on the next page!

Thinking about genres that are inspiring beautiful graphics and branding… i keep finding myself fascinated by the merch when we pop in to super hip coffee spots… particularly coffee roasters! Sooooo here’s a Coffee Roaster Merch Gift Guide!

I thought about opening it up to all/anything coffee related… but by then you have every coffee shop in the world to comb through, as well as coffee mugs in general, coffee related paraphernalia, tools, gadgets, and the list will go on and on. You might as well add in the world of tea at that point. So coffee roaster merch focus it is! Not that that is even an easy feat. Also the world of coffee packaging is an amazing thing to dive into as well! From beautiful labels to unique packaging to amazing names for special editions… so that isn’t really included here either. But I digress…

This Coffee Roaster Merch Gift Guide is a good go to for your coffee loving friends who are incredibly picky about where their coffee comes from, how it was roasted, AND loves great design. Think gift sets, mugs, apparel, totes, coins, and more. When looking at coffee roaster merch - you will find more old school diner mugs, enamelware camping mugs, and NotNeutral Lino Mugs, and KeepCups than you imagined possible, but the further you look, the more surprises you find too! So far the list is mostly North American, but hey - it’s 2am! - so feel free to suggest more i should check out in the comments, and i might keep growing this guide!

Remember the importance of the Towel in Douglas Adam’s Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? “A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you — daft as a brush, but very very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.” It isn’t so different in every day life, is it?

In holiday shopping and researching ‘things to want’… i kept running into multi purpose, cozy towel/blankets that are ready for everything from laying on the beach, picnicking in the grass, drying off the dog, keeping cozy on the couch… and then some. While trying to decide whether i “needed” a big circular The Beach People beach towel or a cozy indoor/outdoor Rumpl Puffy blanket… i realized i have quite a few others i have and LOVE… so here’s a Beach Blankets/Towels Gift Guide! After all, if it’s snowy and wintry out where you are, they can keep you cozy or heated pool ready… or remind you of beach adventures to come. Or if the beach is your backyard and it’s nice (enough) out - grab one and go relax! Head to the next page to see my picks!

Wow - over the years we have had over 70 gift guides on NOTCOT. The last few years i took a breather, but continued to share all the “Buyable” inspiration on NOTCOT.org throughout the year. Well today… I felt like making a gift guide! Kind of like the old ones (collection of fun giftable products!), but different type of theme!

So here’s my Packaging & Pampering Gift Guide! Because one of my favorite things about holiday shopping is the specially packaged gift sets! Useful products you can find everyday that are all bundled and wrapped in fun illustrations, festive colors, and more. It’s a part of holiday shopping that is actually only available during the holidays! Genres we see this most in - alcohol, food, and definitely beauty! So let’s dive in and see some of the fun 2015 holiday packaging to pamper your giftees (or yourself) on the next page!

Want one? We made 10 special NOTCOT Maple stands (no David Kind logo, just a little NOTCOT one instead) If you’re interested, contact me for details! Anything we make from these maple stands will go towards making the larger swing/shelf!

So excited to share our NOTCOT for David Kind Glasses Stands with you! Beautiful eyewear deserves a beautiful place to be displayed when not in use. Milled from Maple, Walnut, and Zebra woods with a felt base and 3d printed inserts that can be rotated (or removed) to accommodate just about any set of glasses (but they do look especially good with David Kind eyewear!) - which will be cantilevered over the woody mountains and valleys perfectly! Added bonus… you can also use it to hold your phone, or any other little items on your desk, bedside table, counter, etc. And even when empty (i might be biased!) they are mesmerizing to stare at - the topographic lines that emerged as we milled the wood grain are just beautiful, and each one is so different from the others!

These stands were designed, prototyped, (some) milled, lasered, 3D printed and finished all in-house here at NOTlabs, Los Angeles. See the full making-of here! In fact, we didn’t even set out to design glasses stands, but while prototyping our swing/shelf project, Dave Barton of David Kind happened to visit, and while showing us glasses, our prototype happened to be on the table, and the perfect fit for them! And just like that, the idea for wooden glasses stands was born, and we had to make them a reality.

Ready to see them all? See the product shots and details on the next page. And if you want to see them in person - we hear that sometime this week they will be available at Deus Ex Machina in Venice! But for now… to the pictures!